When bestselling author, twenty-nine year old Hayley Stevens, walked in on her husband, Paul, and her best friend in bed together, she knew her life would never be the same again. 

One year later, Hayley stowed her last bag in her much-loved Audi Coupe and said goodbye to the city. She was excited to be heading west to Lochway, a small colonial village sitting on the beautiful Macdonald River. Wanting peace and quiet, Hayley had impulsively bought a cosy sandstone cottage there surrounded by lush rose gardens, with a small overseer’s cottage – ideal for a writer’s retreat.

What she didn’t expect was the almost immediate ‘gift’ of a very noisy donkey named Errol. Nor did Hayley expect to meet her handsome new neighbour, Luke Mason, when she was covered in mud trying to drag Errol out of Luke’s dam. The strange thing was though that Luke seemed very familiar to her. 

As Hayley slowly gains acceptance into her small community and starts writing again she becomes almost afraid of the inexplicable visions she sees. What does it all mean? And why does Luke refuse to listen to her? 

Written with warmth and humour, Someone Like You is an intriguing, funny and romantic story about past lives and new beginnings.

My review:

I always welcome a new Karly Lane novel with a big embrace. I admire Lane’s innate ability to present the reader with heart-warming characters, touches of humour, breathtaking romances and compelling storylines, all of which are set to a true blue Aussie rural setting. Someone Like You is a book I adored and I hope you do too!

At the heart of Karly Lane’s eleventh novel is Hayley Stevens. Hayley is a well-known author, but when Someone Like You opens, we soon discover that Hayley is suffering from writer’s block and nursing a broken heart over the loss of her marriage. In an attempt to gain the upper hand over her life, Hayley packs her car and travels away from the city, to the country. Her destination is Lochway, a quaint colonial village nestled near the stunning Macdonald River. Hayley buys a sweet little cottage in the small village and feels certain this is the place that will break her dry spell on the writing front. To help Hayley on her revived writing journey is a Errol, a donkey with a big personality, along with a bevy of other animals. Then handsome neighbour Luke makes his presence known and it is love at first sight between these two leads. As Hayley begins to settle into the groove of laid back country life, her writing takes a positive turn, along with her love life. However, there is something holding Hayley and Luke back from completely surrendering to one another and what is the significance of the visions Hayley is having?

Karly Lane is an author who is a permanent fixture on my favourites and auto-buy list. She never puts a foot wrong with her novels and each release is as good as and as special as the last, in its own unique way. This time around, Someone Like You again combines Lane’s signature style, but it is a story that incorporates a little of  another genre to shake things up. Someone Like You is much more than a simple city to country sea change story. I will say from the very beginning of this review there is so much to love about Someone Like You.

The best place to start in outlining my response to Someone Like You is to start with leading lady Hayley Stevens. I loved Hayley and her occupation, a writer, just as much. This was the perfect career to attach to a main protagonist and Karly simply nails it! I appreciated the insight into writers and the writing process in general, through the thorough exploration of the character of Hayley, it was absorbing. Supporting Hayley are a great cast of secondary characters, who I had all the time in the world for (except Hayley’s two timing ex and cheating friend). I feel it is vital that I mention the non human characters that feature in Someone Like You. Errol the donkey and co were a pure delight! I loved the use of Hayley’s little hobby farm in the novel, it was a great touch.

As we come to expect with each and every Karly Lane novel, the country based setting is a defining feature of the novel. In Someone Like You, we travel to the Macdonald River region. This is a stunning locale which Lane showcases to divine perfection in her novel. I loved travelling to this part of the country, it was a welcome experience. Lane’s ability to transport her readers from their home , to the heart of the country is put simply, a true gift. I loved getting to know the past history, the insight into colonial times and the mystery of this region. A big round of applause for Lane in excelling in this aspect of her story, yet again!

I wasn’t surprised that I lapped up the romance aspect of Someone Like You. Who doesn’t adore a love at first sight romance? Lane goes that extra mile in the love aspect of this story, adding an extra dimension to her leading lady, Hayley’s pathway to happy ever after. I can’t say too much more as I would hate to ruin this aspect of the novel, but it works and I enjoyed it very much.

Expect to be swept away to the picturesque colonial village of Lochway, in Karly Lane’s latest novel, Someone Like You. With gently touches of humour, a big dollop of romance, a sprinkle of history, a dusting of mystery and a drop of magic to froth up the tale, this is one Karly Lane novel you do not want to miss.

Someone Like You by Karly Lane was published on 1st May 2018 by Allen & Unwin. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.

To learn more about the author of Someone Like You, Karly Lane visit here. 

*I wish to thank Allen & Unwin for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.

Someone Like You is book #48 of the Australian Women Writers Challenge

Giveaway!

Allen and Unwin are kindly offering 3 lucky readers an opportunity to win a copy of Someone Like You, Karly Lane’s latest release. Simply leave a comment below on Someone Like You or any of Karly’s books to be entered into this great competition!

*Competition open to Australian postal addresses only. Closes 23rd May 2018.